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Construction Milestone for World's Tallest Mass Timber Building

Date:23-Aug-16Author: David Rowlinson

UBC Brock Commons, Canada

The final wood panel has been installed on the Brock Commons building at the University of British Columbia in Canada. Standing at a height of 53 metres, the University’s new student residence will be the tallest mass timber building in the world when completed.

Construction of the engineered wood structure commenced on 6 June and was completed on 10 August, remarkably only 66 days. The building required the assembly of 1302 glulam columns and 464 CLT panels. Construction of the steel roof structure is now underway.

Designed by Acton Ostry Architects, the 18-storey student residence building will provide housing for 404 students, with a mix of studio and quad units. The structure is a hybrid system comprised of CLT floor slabs, glulam columns and steel connectors, all built above a ground floor of concrete with concrete cores rising the full height of the building.

The project is due to be completed by July 2017 and is expected to reduce carbon emissions by 2,563 tonnes, equivalent to taking 630 cars from the road.